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1. Register |
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2. Free Tools |
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3. Contribute |
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| The exo.performance.network
(xpnet.com) is a
global, community-based effort to gather real-world metrics
data from Windows-based systems and to
analyze that data in order to extract common threads of
knowledge and information. By compiling a comprehensive
database of system and application metrics (the
exo.repository),
xpnet.com researchers hope to
identify critical trends and to
provide valuable feedback (via the
exo.charts
library and the
exo.blog) to the global IT community. |
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| Participating persons, business
entities or organizations
contribute to the exo.repository by downloading and
deploying the
DMS Clarity Tracker Agent across one or more representative
Windows-based systems. The agent then collects system
and process metrics data and uploads it to the
exo.repository,
where it is accessible to the originating
contributor and to members of the xpnet.com research and support staff. |
exo.performance.network:
a global, community-based effort |
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| Note: The exo.performance.network
is a free service made
available by the staff and engineers of
Devil Mountain Software, Inc.
All of the tools and research deliverables offered
through this site are available for non-commercial use
at no cost to the end-user. |
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| Interested parties can help support
our efforts by
registering for a free
xpnet.com account and then
contributing data from one or more systems. In return
for you participation, you'll gain access to a range of
tools and resources for analyzing your own repository
contributions: |
- Tracking
agents to record and aggregate metrics
data from multiple systems
- Test
scripts and
workload simulators for
qualifying real-time performance
- Monitoring and analysis
widgets for
digging into your repository contributions
You'll also be able to tap our developer resources so
you can build your own, custom analysis packages that
leverage the
exo.repository. Externalization features, like XML query
support (coming soon), will provide direct access to repository records.
Build your own, custom monitoring framework using our
agents and templates - for
free!
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| what is the exo.repository? |
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The exo.repository is a dynamic
compilation of system and process metrics data collected
from Windows-based PCs and servers around the globe. It includes
minute-by-minute records of key performance-related metrics, like CPU
utilization and disk I/O, as well as process-specific
data (working set, thread count, etc.). Records are grouped by
machine ID, with each entry time-stamped to provide a
basic chronological reference. Access to the exo.repository is provided by the
free exo.widgets
and exo.charts
libraries.
Currently, we have over 18,000
registered users, each of whom is connecting up to three
PCs or servers to our service. The repository continues
to grow, with several hundred new registrants each
month. Factor in the breadth of our geographical
coverage - we have users contributing data from all
corners of the globe - and you can see why we refer to
the repository as the most accurate, authoritative
source for data on Microsoft Windows market share and
composition. |
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| what is the tracker agent? |
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DMS Clarity Tracker Agent is a real-time
metrics tracking agent for Windows-based
desktop and server environments.
Featuring a robust, high-resolution
architecture, the Clarity Tracker
Agent provides detailed reporting on
system, process and network performance. |
The DMS Clarity Tracker Agent
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Key features include:
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One-Minute
Install
- It literally takes just a minute to install and
configure the DMS Clarity Tracker Agent. Simply
download the ~600KB Microsoft Installer (MSI)
package from the xpnet.com site, execute it and
enter your Customer ID.
No reboot is required.
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High-Availability Design -
The DMS Clarity Tracker Agent installs
as a Windows Service and uses the Performance Data
Helper (PDH) libraries to query critical performance
counters. The agent process consumes less than 1% of
the available CPU cycles and runs entirely in User
Mode (no kernel drivers or back-door process hooks),
making it ideal for sensitive computing environments
where downtime is not an option.
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Precision Sampling -
Metrics counters are sampled once very second and
then aggregated to disk based on a configurable
storage interval (typically 60 seconds). A unique
"clock free" sampling method ensures accurate
results that are immune to variations in system time
stamps and related timer anomalies (i.e. Virtual
Machine RTC clock skew).
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Web-Based Communications -
Running in tandem with the DMS Clarity Tracker
Agent, the Tracker Upload service spools collected
data to the
exo.repository for later review.
The service uses an SSL-secure web
connection that is compatible with most
enterprise firewalls and proxy server
implementations.
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Integration with Clarity Studio -
The Tracker Agent integrates seamlessly with the DMS
Clarity
Studio Workload Simulation
Framework, allowing for the creation of
dynamic, multi-process workload
simulations for stress-testing system and network infrastructure
components.
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| what is the studio framework? |
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DMS Clarity Studio is a client
and server workload simulation solution for Windows-based
environments. Integrating seamlessly with the full range of Clarity
Suite components, DMS Clarity Studio provides IT professionals with an
extensible set of test scripts and simulation objects that directly
compliment the real-time data collection capabilities of the DMS
Clarity Tracker Agent. |
Test Everything with DMS Clarity
Studio
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Key features include:
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Test
Everything
- From personal productivity applications to
client/server database and workflow/messaging
connections, DMS Clarity Studio can test it all.
Design and execute sophisticated test packages that
stress all levels of your Windows IT infrastructure:
Hardware, software and network.
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Repository Integration -
The DMS Clarity Studio Framework shell integrates
seamlessly with the
DMS Clarity Tracker Agent,
sharing the latter's upload mechanism to provide a
common communications model to the
exo.repository. Additional, Studio-specific
widgets (coming soon) will provide
a unified view of script/workload scoring data and
system/process metrics.
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Scalable Architecture -
Clarity Studio Workload objects execute as
independent Windows processes, allowing multiple
instances of an object to execute in parallel.
Configure myriad combinations of Workloads and Test
Scripts, all running concurrently with detailed
metrics reporting provided by the
DMS Clarity
Metrics Tracker Agent.
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Single-Button Simplicity -
Execute
complex, multi-process test packages with a single
click. Schedule Test Script and Workload packages to
execute at a specific time, for a specific duration,
or as part of a larger, multi-system testing
scenario.
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| who is Devil Mountain Software? |
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Devil Mountain Software, Inc., is an
independent software development company
based in FL. Our primary focus is on the
financial services sector where we
maintain several large installations of
our commercial DMS Clarity Suite
performance analysis solution. The
exo.performance.network is the pet
project of our engineering team and a
way to give something back to the larger
IT community.
If you'd like more information about
Devil Mountain or our products &
services, please email us at
info@xpnet.com. Or call us
direct at (561) 459-5339. |
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| Copyright 2010 - Devil Mountain
Software, Inc. - All Rights Reserved |
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